Mcdonald's Fined $4 Million For Accident-report Failure

McDonald's Corp. has agreed to pay the government a $4 million fine for failing to report injuries suffered by children on playground equipment at some of its restaurants.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday that the fine settles a dispute with the Oak Brook-based hamburger chain over alleged violations of a 1995 agreement that required McDonald's to report defective playground equipment to the commission.

From the 1970s to the 1980s, more than 400 children were injured playing on the "Big Mac Climber," a metal platform resembling a hamburger that McDonald's began removing from its restaurants in the early 1990s, the government said.

Most children were hurt in falls, with nearly 20 who suffered concussions or skull fractures and 80 who suffered broken bones.

McDonald's removed all the climbers from its restaurants by 1995, said McDonald's spokesman Charles Ebeling.

"What's good about this settlement is we now have a clear process for incident reporting that will set a standard for the playground industry and make it possible for other companies that have playground equipment to identify and address any problem issues," Ebeling said.

Ann Brown, chairman of the commission, said that the agency was particularly upset with McDonald's because it had failed to report playground injuries once before.